Handling missing data in the 2000 Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation Survey

The Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation survey was conducted to estimate the coverage in the 2000 U.S. Census. After field procedures were completed, several types of missing data had to be addressed to apply dual-system estimation. Some housing units were not interviewed. Two noninterview adjustments were devised from the same set of interviews, one for each of two points in time. In addition, the resident, match, or enumeration status of some respondents was not determined. Methods applied in the past were replaced to accommodate a tighter schedule to compute and verify the estimates. This paper presents the extent of missing data in the survey, describes the procedures applied, comparing them to past and current alternatives, and provides analytical summaries of the procedures, including comparisons of dual-system estimates of population under alternatives. Because the resulting levels of missing data were low, it appears that alternative procedures would not have affected the results substantially. However some changes in the estimates are noted.